


Familial Relations and Basic Introductions

by dearzoemurphy



Series: Queer Studies in an Alternate Timeline [3]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Found Family, Minor Internalized Homophobia, Post-Episode: s05e06 Analysis of Cork-Based Networking, lesbian Annie Edison, no Duncan or Chang or Hickey b/c it felt wrong to have them here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26116789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearzoemurphy/pseuds/dearzoemurphy
Summary: Annie decides that it's time to introduce Rachel to the study group.Sequel to Analysis of Coat Checks and Chance Meetings, but can be read on its own.
Relationships: Annie Edison & The Study Group, Annie Edison/Rachel (Community)
Series: Queer Studies in an Alternate Timeline [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896352
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	Familial Relations and Basic Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> yea my rarepair one shot is a series now, I shouldn't be as surprised as I am. hope you all enjoy!! <3

“Hey, is everything okay?” Rachel asked, reaching over to take one of Annie’s hands in her own.

Annie glanced to the side, biting her lip and trying to stop her nervous fidgeting. “Yeah, everything’s fine! It’s- it’s fine, it’s fine…”

Things were, in fact, a little less than fine.

Following a night of joyful dancing, Annie had gone on a handful of dates with the blonde coat check attendant. They had connected in a way that Annie hadn’t connected with anyone, maybe ever before, and had recently decided to make things official with her.

That part was more than fine by Annie. What currently wasn’t fine was the sudden and crushing realization that she was about to introduce her new girlfriend to her study group.

“You know, we don’t have to tell them today. Not if you’re not ready,” Rachel said softly. She gently tugged on Annie’s hand, prompting her girlfriend to stop walking and face her.

“But I want to! I don’t have any reason to be scared. I know they’ll all be happy for me,” Annie affirmed.

Rachel nodded. “I know. But it’s okay to still be nervous, even if you know you’ll be accepted! And it’s okay to hold off on telling them until you’re not. You can just introduce me as your super cool friend from Chemistry or something,” she said lightly, the corner of her mouth tugged up into a smirk.

Annie looked down. Rachel’s mention of acceptance reminded her of the real reason why she was nervous. She hadn’t even come out to the study group yet.

She knew that Britta would be the first to voice her enthusiastic support. Abed would be similarly supportive, maybe he would even make a comment about how this revelation was in line with her character. Jeff might have to take a minute to process the information, but she was sure that he would be happy for her. Even Shirley would understand and likely be glad to see Annie in a happy, healthy relationship.

But she was scared that something might change. Some nebulous list of things wouldn't ever be the same. What if the group dynamic shifted in one way or another? What if they started treating her differently? What if Britta went out of her way to be performatively acceptive and Shirley fought her on it and Jeff got mad having to hear about it all the time and-

Annie took a deep breath, realizing that she had been so lost in thought that she’d left her girlfriend waiting for a response. Rachel kept her steady, gentle smile, rubbing small circles on the inside of Annie’s palm with her thumb.

“I want to tell them today. They’ve been a part of my life for so long, and now that you’re a part of it too, I want them to meet you. Not just as my friend, either. As my girlfriend,” Annie said confidently, “Besides, Abed already knows you and thinks that you’re cool, right? You only really have three people to impress,” she added in a lighter tone.

Rachel nodded, smile widening. “Okay. If you’re sure, then I’m ready.”

“Okay. Let’s do it,” Annie agreed, taking a deep and shaky breath as she squeezed her girlfriend’s hand. Rachel gave three small squeezes back, to which Annie gave a broad smile. They turned towards the library doors and began to make their way up the stairs, hand in hand.

Annie did her best to keep her heart from racing right out of her chest. This brief study room introduction was akin to having her first boyfriend over for family dinner, letting them pass judgement on her partner. Maybe she was more worried about getting the group to approve of Rachel than she was about coming out. Was that normal? Could her heart stop beating this fast? Was she going to pass out? Who was she kidding, they were going to love her girlfriend. However, no amount of rationalization could tame the butterflies building in her stomach. So Annie took a few deep breaths and focused on the way Rachel was stroking her hand as they reached the open study room door.

Rachel gave Annie a look, prompting her to enter the room whenever she was ready. Annie felt a surge of confidence and knew that it was now or never, and charged forward.

The pair landed near the doorway, Shirley and Abed’s gazes being pulled towards them. Jeff and Britta’s followed not long after, and soon, Annie and Rachel were standing in the middle of the room, hand in hand, all eyes on them.

“Hey, guys! So, uh…I’d like you all to meet my girlfriend, Rachel. Rachel, this is Jeff, Shirley, Abed, and Britta,” Annie rushed out, stiffly pointing at each of her friends in turn, “Group, this is Rachel.”

Her ability to make the introduction plainly and without any buildup or fanfare surprised everyone, especially Annie. Each of the study group members looked momentarily stunned, Jeff and Britta both visibly attempting to keep their jaws from hitting the floor.

A moment of silence passed as everyone was scrambling for something to say. In the end, it was Shirley who first grounded herself enough to smile and form a response.

“Nice to meet you, Rachel! You’re so cute,” the older woman said cheerfully.

“Nice to meet you, too, Shirley,” Rachel replied, beaming.

“I know we met at the Sophie B. Hawkins dance last year, but it’s good to see you again,” Abed said with an emphatic finger gun.

“You know, Rachel, you’re a lucky lady. Our Annie’s really special,” Britta chimed in.

Rachel nodded and opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off momentarily by Jeff.

“I assume we don’t need to have the conversation about what happens if you break her heart, but…” he trailed off.

“No, that won’t be necessary!” Annie exclaimed, turning her head to look pointedly at Jeff, “Don’t scare her off!” she whispered fiercely.

Rachel stifled a laugh. “Don’t worry, I have no intentions of doing anything like that,” she assured Jeff. He gave a satisfactory nod, to which Annie rolled her eyes.

“Do you want to join us for our committee meeting today?” Abed offered, gesturing to an empty seat at the table.

“Nah, I’ll leave you guys to it. But I’d love to hang out with you all sometime soon,” Rachel said before turning to Annie, “See you tomorrow morning?”

She nodded. “Mhm! See you then.”

Rachel smiled, leaning in to place a quick peck on Annie’s cheek. The other committee members ‘awww’ed as they fondly observed the couple. Annie gave a quick wave to her girlfriend before making her way over to her usual seat at the table, smiling down at nothing in particular.

“So, um…you guys weren’t…surprised?” she asked timidly after a moment of silence had passed.

“Not shocked. You were pretty interested about me and Paige at the Valentine’s dance our sophomore year,” Britta replied casually.

“Stranger things have happened,” Jeff added.

“It’s in line with your character, you’ve only ever expressed attraction to fictional or otherwise unobtainable men,” Abed rationalized. Annie smiled, glad that she had been able to accurately predict at least one of her friends’ reactions.

“I’m just happy that you’ve found someone who makes you happy,” Shirley said, reaching over to clasp one of Annie’s hands for a moment.

Annie smiled broadly. “Aww, thanks. To be honest, I was a little nervous about telling you guys. About her and that I’m…you know…so, thanks. For not making it a big deal.”

“It won’t be a big deal unless you want it to be,” Britta assured her.

“And at least Pierce isn’t here to give a big speech or make any off-color remarks,” Jeff mused, eliciting a few chuckles from the rest of the group.

“So, how long have you two been seeing each other?” Shirley asked.

“About a month. Since a little after the Fat Dog for Midterms dance,” Annie said, still smiling, “Did any of you guys think I might have been seeing someone?”

“Annie, you’ve made pancakes every morning for the past week. Not to mention, the time when you went out and came back super happy and wouldn’t explain why was about a month ago. I knew that there must be someone in the picture, and I’m just glad that it’s someone as cool as Rachel,” Abed said. Annie’s face fell a little bit, causing Britta to laugh.

“If it makes you feel any better, I had no idea. I saw you guys together at that dance, but I thought she was just one of your friends,” she offered.

“That’s fine. I should have known that you would have noticed,” Annie said sheepishly, tipping her head towards Abed.

Her roommate smiled. “You should have her over sometime. We could make something other than buttered noodles and play Mario Kart.”

Annie’s jaw dropped. “You’re _suggesting_ something other than buttered noodles?!”

Jeff snickered. “If you’re not too embarrassed by the rest of us, we could invite her to happy hour with us tomorrow,” he suggested. 

“I’m not embarrassed by you guys! I really wanted you to meet her. You’re my family, I wanted you to approve of _her_ , the other way around is just a bonus,” Annie chided.

Another ‘aw’ rose up from the table.

“I’d like to get to know her better, but as of right now, she has my seal of approval,” Britta said happily. The rest of the group nodded in agreement, causing a broad smile and a light blush to spread across Annie’s face.

“I’m glad. I hope you know that I love you guys. So much,” she said, clasping her hands to her chest.

“We love you, too,” Shirley said. Jeff, Britta, and Abed added their own statements of affection, falling into a contented silence as they all gazed at Annie.

“Well, that’s enough genuine emotion for one day, shall we get back to duct taping the holes in this sinking ship of a school?” Jeff asked after a moment or two had passed.

Britta nodded vigorously in agreement. “Absolutely. I love a good heartfelt moment, but the sweetness is starting to make me itch.”

Annie laughed, happy that things seemed as normal as ever. “Sure. I’ll get out my binder,” she said, turning around to reach for it in her bag.

“I guess we planned a pretty good dance, then. If that’s where the two of you met,” Abed quipped.

She looked up and smiled broadly. “I guess it was a pretty great dance, wasn’t it?”

**Author's Note:**

> as always, please leave a comment with any thoughts/opinions/etc. down below!! ik ik this was overly sweet but...I needed to write this to feed my soul.
> 
> ((also, here's to hoping that the Annie/Rachel tag gets officially recognized as a relationship tag soon!!))


End file.
